The Most Hyped Orioles Prospect...

[drjohnnyfeva]

I would say Daniel Cabrera.  Those were terrible years and the club was looking at doing any kind of PR to get buts in the seats.  I remember some talk about about him being one of the first in a line of pitchers in the farm to get us back on track to the glory years of multiple 20 game winners.  It was all PR, but they were hitting it hard.

Those of you who have a better memory of those years than I, might tack on a couple more guys to ole Daniel who were the heir apparent to the legacy of Palmer, Cueller, Dobson, and McNally...

They even felt strongly enough to hang onto Daniel despite and amid "deep interest from other teams," when the predictable rocket ship began it's trajectory back to Earth.

[atomic]

43 minutes ago, drjohnnyfeva said:

I would say Daniel Cabrera.  Those were terrible years and the club was looking at doing any kind of PR to get buts in the seats.  I remember some talk about about him being one of the first in a line of pitchers in the farm to get us back on track to the glory years of multiple 20 game winners.  It was all PR, but they were hitting it hard.

Those of you who have a better memory of those years than I, might tack on a couple more guys to ole Daniel who were the heir apparent to the legacy of Palmer, Cueller, Dobson, and McNally...

They even felt strongly enough to hang onto Daniel despite and amid "deep interest from other teams," when the predictable rocket ship began it's trajectory back to Earth.

Man Cabrera couldn’t throw a strike to save his life. 

That 2005 team sure over performed with Sidney sponson and Cabrera on the staff. Mazilli most underrated manager Orioles ever had.

[backwardsk]

Speaking of Cabrera, I’ll add in Adam Loewen.  Injuries derailed him.  Drafted two spots ahead of Greinke.

[Ridgway22]

On 4/10/2020 at 5:18 AM, Frobby said:

True, and it’s not like he wasn’t a good player.   Just not a great one.    

Matt had a good career, but the gap between my (unrealistic, yes, probably) expectations and the reality was quite large. I don't think it helped that his rookie year was my first year with MLB.tv and the first season this West Coast dweller could see every Oriole game for the whole season. Not quite Mauer With Power, but I remember his swing seemed long and slow, and the gaudy numbers never materialized. Man, I am bored at 4.05 PST these days......

[beervendor]

On 4/9/2020 at 3:12 PM, Tony-OH said:

Riley was one of the most mismanaged prospects ever. He had the unfortunate timing of coming up in an organization that was in disarray from the top on down. When you add in his lack of maturity at the time, it was a bomb just waiting to happen.

From my article back in 2002

One of the worst cases has to be the mishandling of Matt Riley. Riley was a 19-year old left-hander who had made his way to Double-A thanks to a mid-90s fastball and a knee-buckling breaking ball. However, Riley was also a kid who had some very real maturity issues that required special handling. During one start in late June, Riley threw a pitch and then fell off the mound holding his elbow. The Orioles called it a strained elbow and put him on the seven-day disabled list. Riley missed two starts and was activated, but he was never the same pitcher again. After being activated, Riley posted a 5.20 ERA (26ER/45IP) in his last eight starts, including an 0-3 record with a 5.96 ERA (15ER/22.2IP) in his last four starts. His velocity had dropped off noticeably and by mid-August, he was topping out at only 89MPH. Despite the obvious signs of something wrong, it didn't stop the Orioles from rushing the first true left-handed pitching prospect that organization had seen since Arthur Rhodes to the major leagues. After meeting with Riley and his agent, Frank Wren decided to promote Riley to the major league for a September look. The results were predictable: Riley made three starts, posting a 7.36 ERA with 13 walks and just six strikeouts in 11 innings, before the Orioles mercifully shut him down.

The Orioles didn't really monitor Riley that offseason, and he showed up in the major league camp out of shape, but with an attitude that could be summed up by his vanity license plate, "24kt arm." His frequent lateness and attitude rubbed the Orioles' established players the wrong way, and Riley was soon ostracized from the rest of the team. That didn't stop the Orioles from keeping him in the major league camp, where he saw one inning's work over three weeks of the exhibition season. Riley was eventually sent to the minor league camp across the state in Sarasota, from where he was later assigned to Rochester despite still being out of shape. With no legs under him, Riley was rocked at Rochester and eventually put on the DL with arm soreness. When he returned from the DL he was sent to Bowie where he was put into the bullpen until he regained his strength. He pitched poorly for most of the 2000 season before feeling a sharp pain in his elbow after throwing a pitch in a game at the end of August. Riley had torn a tendon in his left elbow and underwent Tommy John Surgery. He would miss the entire 2001 season.

Despite missing that entire season, Riley wasn't brought back slowly the way the Cardinals handled Matt Morris, another young pitcher who missed a year with Tommy John surgery. No, Riley was placed into the Baysox rotation where he compiled 109 innings in 22 starts, posting a 4-10 record and a 6.34 ERA.

But he got a quadrophonic Blaupunkt!

[ChuckS]

The most hyped O’s prospect I’ve seen in the internet age is pretty clearly, Matt Wieters. 

Outside of the last 20-25 years, it’s hard to compare.  Because the media and fan hype dynamics just aren’t the same. 

Adley could exceed Matt if he’s shredding through minor league pitching the same way. 

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

The most hyped O’s prospect I’ve seen in the internet age is pretty clearly, Matt Wieters. 

Outside of the last 20-25 years, it’s hard to compare. 

I think folks are forgetting how excited they were when the O's traded for Zoellner.

[BohKnowsBmore]

Good discussion in this thread.

I would add that I don't think Machado belongs on the list at all. Seems like there may be some hindsight bias based on him turning into a star. I don't think his level hype was anything close to those other guys.

[Chuck A]

I have to agree with Matt Riley.  Million dollar arm, 10 cent head.  He was the worst interview I had to do.  Was so unimpressed.  If there is anyone out there who thought higher of him than himself, I haven't heard it.  Confidence is great, that level of cockiness just left me with the impression that he is one.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Chuck A

[jarman86]

Is this most hyped who made it to majors? Or most hyped?  There was a lot of hype on Billy Rowell.  I remember everyone was stoked when we drafted him and a few years after as well.  Under Armour put him in one of their commercials and then, he crashed and burned.  I also remember Matusz and Gausman being hyped pretty hard.  

Edited April 14, 2020 by jarman86

[Moose Milligan]

4 hours ago, Chuck A said:

I have to agree with Matt Riley.  Million dollar arm, 10 cent head.  He was the worst interview I had to do.  Was so unimpressed.  If there is anyone out there who thought higher of him than himself, I haven't heard it.  Confidence is great, that level of cockiness just left me with the impression that he is one.

I wonder what happened to him.  And Billy Rowell, too.  Seems that most of the time, the guys that had pretty good careers land on their feet elsewhere.  Companies are usually willing to hire someone who is/was recognizable and played at a professional level and people might recognize.

No one outside of the die-hardest Orioles fans remembers Matt Reilly and Billy Rowell.  They never got famous or regionally well known enough to have an easy-ish life outside of baseball.  

[now]

On 4/9/2020 at 12:12 PM, Tony-OH said:

Riley was one of the most mismanaged prospects ever. He had the unfortunate timing of coming up in an organization that was in disarray from the top on down. When you add in his lack of maturity at the time, it was a bomb just waiting to happen.

From my article back in 2002

One of the worst cases has to be the mishandling of Matt Riley. Riley was a 19-year old left-hander who had made his way to Double-A thanks to a mid-90s fastball and a knee-buckling breaking ball. However, Riley was also a kid who had some very real maturity issues that required special handling. During one start in late June, Riley threw a pitch and then fell off the mound holding his elbow. The Orioles called it a strained elbow and put him on the seven-day disabled list. Riley missed two starts and was activated, but he was never the same pitcher again. After being activated, Riley posted a 5.20 ERA (26ER/45IP) in his last eight starts, including an 0-3 record with a 5.96 ERA (15ER/22.2IP) in his last four starts. His velocity had dropped off noticeably and by mid-August, he was topping out at only 89MPH. Despite the obvious signs of something wrong, it didn't stop the Orioles from rushing the first true left-handed pitching prospect that organization had seen since Arthur Rhodes to the major leagues. After meeting with Riley and his agent, Frank Wren decided to promote Riley to the major league for a September look. The results were predictable: Riley made three starts, posting a 7.36 ERA with 13 walks and just six strikeouts in 11 innings, before the Orioles mercifully shut him down.

The Orioles didn't really monitor Riley that offseason, and he showed up in the major league camp out of shape, but with an attitude that could be summed up by his vanity license plate, "24kt arm." His frequent lateness and attitude rubbed the Orioles' established players the wrong way, and Riley was soon ostracized from the rest of the team. That didn't stop the Orioles from keeping him in the major league camp, where he saw one inning's work over three weeks of the exhibition season. Riley was eventually sent to the minor league camp across the state in Sarasota, from where he was later assigned to Rochester despite still being out of shape. With no legs under him, Riley was rocked at Rochester and eventually put on the DL with arm soreness. When he returned from the DL he was sent to Bowie where he was put into the bullpen until he regained his strength. He pitched poorly for most of the 2000 season before feeling a sharp pain in his elbow after throwing a pitch in a game at the end of August. Riley had torn a tendon in his left elbow and underwent Tommy John Surgery. He would miss the entire 2001 season.

Despite missing that entire season, Riley wasn't brought back slowly the way the Cardinals handled Matt Morris, another young pitcher who missed a year with Tommy John surgery. No, Riley was placed into the Baysox rotation where he compiled 109 innings in 22 starts, posting a 4-10 record and a 6.34 ERA.

"You can't make this stuff up."

[now]

On 4/9/2020 at 2:02 PM, Can_of_corn said:

We've had this talk before.  Wins and losses aren't the best criteria to use when evaluating pitchers. 

Except for career totals... as per Bill James back in the day.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, now said:

Except for career totals... as per Bill James back in the day.

Unlike Drungo I'm not a huge James fan.

[now]

18 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Unlike Drungo I'm not a huge James fan.

That's fine, but don't you think career W-L record has merit as a stat?